Dolly Parton shed light on her response to Elle King’s tribute performance that sparked backlash and prompted an apology from the Grand Ole Opry last month. King was part of the “Opry Goes Dolly” lineup, honoring the country music legend on her 78th birthday on Friday, January 19, at a show hosted at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Downtown Nashville, Tennessee.
The Opry apologized to an audience member who complained about King’s performance after the Come Get Your Wife star appeared drunk on stage. Videos on social media showed King telling the audience she was “f***ing hammered,” using additional foul language and seemingly forgetting the words to Parton’s “Marry Me” during the tribute. The Opry wrote in an apology at the time: “...we deeply regret and apologize for the language that was used during last night’s second Opry performance.”
Since then, other Opry goers and social media users have weighed in on King’s performance (including Parton’s sister, Stella Parton). King has also postponed some of her upcoming performances, beginning with a show at Billy Bob’s Texas — the “world’s largest honky tonk,” located in Fort Worth — and announcing several others shortly afterward.
Parton has largely remained silent on King’s performance; however, she opened up about it in a recent interview with Extra. Speaking with interviewer Alecia Davis, Parton said: “Elle is really a great artist. She’s a great girl, and she’s been going through a lot of hard things lately. And she just had a little too much to drink. So, let’s just forgive that and forget it and move on because she felt worse than anybody ever could.”
Parton also spoke with Davis about her husband of nearly six decades, Carl Thomas Dean, her Dallas Cowboys cheerleader-inspired wardrobe during the Thanksgiving Day halftime show in Texas (she recently revealed how she’d respond to haters who criticized the look), her Duncan Hines baking products and more. Watch it here: